Thursday, October 9, 2014

Review of The Wet Brush & My Hair History!

My hair is heavy, thick, and naturally curly. Any little hint of warmth or humidity at all and it grows to 3-4 times its original size - Monica Geller looked mild in comparison. When I came home from nights out years ago, I'd be greeted with my sister going "oh my god, your HAIR". Massive. It's massive. It actually gets to the point where I can't be bothered doing anything with it, because it gets so tangled. Case in point - this picture from a couple of years ago when it was probably at its longest. I had straightened it that morning and gone out in the rain for about three minutes.

I cut it short after that, but started to grow it again in 2011 when we got engaged. On our wedding day, I had it curled - but I also had a bloody side fringe that was too short and that I was fiddling with all day. In half of the pictures from that day it's hanging in my eyes.

My hair hasn't really changed all that much over the last 20 years - here's some hair history.

"But, wait," you may say, "where are the late 1990s picures? The ones from your formative, teenage years?" - well, I was pretty much a professional camera avoider after the age of 12. The late 1990s involved a lot of Glints hair dye, a lot of Wella plum colours (they earned me the nickname Dot Cotton), and at one point two bleached stripes with Stargazer red over them.

In the 1990s, I also had my only dalliance with very short hair. That phase began after I watched this movie:

My Nancy obsession was born.

When I started trying to grow it out, all hell broke loose. I really, really do not have the right hair for short hair. Don't ask what I was supposed to be here - a vampire bride? No idea.

You'd think I would have learned my lesson to stop messing with my hair, but nope. During the summer this year, it was way too long, way too fuzzy, way too hard to manage, so I lost patience with it one morning and did this:

Yup, chopped it all off. In fairness it didn't turn out too bad after I straightened it:

That's all well and good when I have time to straighten it, but 6 days out of 7, I don't. As you can see by the earlier pictures above, my hair is naturally thick and fluffy. I'm also still suffering a bit of hair loss after having the boys last year, so I do tend to shed a bit. Enter The Wet Brush.

The Wet Brush was something I'd heard about in passing - mainly from Aisling's blog. I was delighted to be asked to try it, mainly because the Tangle Teezer and I did not get along and I've been looking for an alternative.

I actually binned my Tangle Teezer after the second use - I shed anyway, but it took so much hair with it that I couldn't even see the brush anymore. I found the lack of a handle a pure nuisance, and kept getting it caught in the back of my hair.

The Wet Brush claims to "quickly and painlessly detangle even the thickest, most stubborn hair thanks to its revolutionary bristles." It has a rubberized, non-slip finish so it's easy to manage with wet hands. It's suitable for people of all ages, including young children.
So, does it work? On the left is the amount of hair I lose after brushing with a regular paddle brush. On the right is the amount lost after using the Wet Brush.

So, yes, it works. It REALLY works. When I felt the bristles initially, I thought there was no way in hell that it would untangle my knotty mop. Not only did it untangle it far quicker than anything else I've tried, but it didn't hurt at all (unlike that blasted Tangle Teezer that scraped my scalp and ripped the hair from my head). I've been using this brush for about a month now and it has made washing my hair far less of a chore - anything that makes my life easier is very welcome when I have two one-year-olds to look after.

I haven't tried it on extensions, but the next time I wear my clip-ins I will update. It's a gorgeous brush, it comes in a range of colours (I was sent this really cool matte metallic blue one) and I will definitely be picking up a couple to put in Christmas boxes.

If your hair is the bane of your life - give The Wet Brush a go. I promise, if it was rubbish, I'd tell you. It's not. It's bloody amazing.

Keep an eye out for it in chemists across Ireland - in the meantime you can find it at Sally Express for €10.49.

15 comments:

I love your honesty and your hair looks pretty amazing now, so healthy and shiny!! My hair is fine and straight so I've never had to contend with Monica hair but it means injecting volume into it is basically impossible!! This sounds great, I hate the idea of a brush without a proper handle so this sounds much better!

Thank you! It always looks shiny enough after I straighten it but it's finding the time to do it!! My sister has fine, really straight hair - it was always a case of the grass is greener when we were little, she spends ages trying to curl hers & I hate mine curly! The brush is so good, I would definitely buy another one.

Yep, the combination of Max Factor pan stick and Rimmel's lightest powder is not very flash-friendly!! It definitely helps a lot with brushing time, I don't dread it anymore after washing my hair which is huge. I used to be able to hear the knots ripping!

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